Thursday, January 21, 2010

Serious cold, Justen Ladda said, is when the sponge in the kitchen sink feels like wood or the toothpaste freezes or the refrigerator turns itself off, as it did one particularly frigid day last winter. Not that Mr. Ladda, a 56-year-old sculptor who has lived heat-free in his Lower East Side loft for three decades, is bothered by such extremes. “Winter comes and goes,” he’ll tell you blithely, adjusting his black wool scarf and watch cap. (Along with fingerless gloves, long underwear and felt slippers, they are part of Mr. Ladda’s at-home uniform when the mercury dips.)

Mr. Ladda, whose work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, decided long ago to live without central heating. Proper temperature control, you see, would require insulating his wooden ceiling, and ruining its fine acoustics. “I know this sounds really lame, but I listen to a lot of music and it just sounds better,” he said. Also, the rent on his unimproved live-work loft is only $300, well below many people’s winter utility bills.

41 comments:

Cybill
said...

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I like saving money as much as the next gal, but dang, being cold all the time at home is sad. My first flat in SF had no heat, and it was a frigid nightmare. We begged that cheap landlord to get us heat...he didn't...and I had to go.

Could I do this???I live in Florida -- we had a cold snap last week that had me thinking I need to move somewhere warmer!But good for him . He'll probably live to 120 and die with a million dollars in the bank.

I have. I was younger & angry with the local utility monopoly. It was ridiculous- especially maintaining a clean home (I'll spare ya the details). Louisville KY doesn't get that cold, but that winter was one of the coldest on record. Too funny.We saved about $500 though, but worth it? Eh.

I keep my place around 50-60. It's really not that bad. I just layer clothes, keep moving, and make excuses to bake. The only drawback is it's hard to talk myself out of my warm, warm bed in the morning.

My winter clothes resemble his. The heat is set at 60 degrees. I'm from AZ and am not liking the cold here in Denver - but our bills would be $500/month. Leaky windows, no insulation, a house where every room has 2 exterior (uninsulated) walls...what was I thinking?

Believe it or not- my apartment has NO heat and its a good thing I am always hot or willing to put a sweater on if it gets really chilly here in SF. People have said that it is not legal for my landlord to not provide heat- but they bought me space heaters- but if I turned them on all of the power would go out and I would have to walk to the basement to flip the breakers. After years of living here- I am SO happy to say that my electrical all got upgraded JUST this week and I now have 3 heaters on low around my apartment. I guess I didn't really realize just how bad it was being in the cold. I am MUCH HAPPIER now!

(Oh and I am not joking- until a week ago would turn the oven to 350 and keep the oven door open all day!)

Read this yesterday. No, would not do it. But then, I am not a semi-starving artist or seeker of ultra-zen experiences. I think zen experiences can be had with heat. It's called the middle way for a reason.

Seriously, some of the spaces ARE lovely, but the lifestyle sucks, at least to me. Works for them? Goody.

Never. I have worked in offices where the temperature hovers around 67 and I have been miserable. I consider feeling cold to be as distracting as having to pee and not being able to find a toilet, living on three hours of sleep per night, or having a dry mouth due to extreme thirst. I'd even prefer to be hungry than to be cold. Adding layers does nothing to help with cold feet, cold hands, and a cold nose. But ... to go the other direction and have a beautiful home that was sultry hot in the summer ...

ok wait. I live in MN... and a common concern here - and it gets really cold here - temps under 0 degrees for a week and crazy stuff like that is pipes freezing. I don't understand how they have running water and avoid having frozen pipes.

I lived in a place once where the kitchen didn't have heat so it was about 40-50 degrees in there during the winter. The fridge turned off, I ate out for almost all my meals and never went down there. I guess you can tolerate it but really, it sucks.

Serious cold is when your olive oil is solid, leaving your milk on the counter because it's colder then the fridge, stepping outside because it's a bit warmer there at times...My first winter in a large old house in Boston moving from L.A. I was in disbelieve seeing the previous tenant's heating bill. To me it was like paying an arm and a leg for the air you breath. It was between a luxury car's payment and a mortgage and everyone paid it every month. I was used to a gas bill ranging from $9 to $23. It was the longest winter of my life...snowed in May!! That's half way into summer!

I did for two years, but I was living in California so it doesn't really compare. It still sucked a lot, though. My house regularly got down to the 40s and my roommates and I all looked crazy, shuffling around the house in hats and blankets that did not in any way match the clothes we were wearing.

Many years ago I was visiting my brother in law in Bologna, Italy in January. He had a 300 year old house with no central heat and a few radiators that were seriously not working.. My husband and I woke up one morning, (my first time sleeping on flannel sheets) and could see our breath in the room. There's just no way.

I dunno. I live in a little hobbit hole under 500 sq. ft. with drafts everywhere... and although it's not snowing, it definitely gets cold in this little place. We have a space heater... it works wonders and doesn't need to be on for long to take the chill out of the air. Hats, socks, and sweaters also do wonders to keep you warm. Sometimes I grab those cozy items before turning up the artificial heat. If my utilities weren't included in the rent I would definitely grab for the cozies much more often...

we spent the last 3 years in a 1950s ranch in denver and FROZE. it was a rental w/no insulation, an original furnace & windows...we had to put plastic over the windows to cut down on the breeze (you could see the curtains move). because it cost a fortune to heat, we kept it around 62 and wore lots of layers. i guess when you're in it, you don't always realize how bad it is.this year, we live in our new (to us) house that's insulated and it's such a change. i've even noticed that our dog's coat isn't as thick this winter. just because you can survive, doesn't mean it's pleasant.

No way. But, I do have a gloriously programmable thermostat, and each night at 11:00 I snuggle under flannel sheets and cashmere blankets and let the temperature dip to 49 degrees. Lets me sleep very well and saves me a chunk of $, but I have to make sure to go to the bathroom at 10:55 because at those temperatures, there's no way I'm leaving bed 'til the heat comes on in the morning.

I lived in a house in Wales where we didn't have central heat or "instant" hot water. I would huddle in my fur coat, sweaters, thick socks and a big mohair blanket. When it came time to bathe, I had to turn the water heater on a few hours in advance and heat the water. The bathroom didn't even have a heater in it, and the hot/warm water always ran out halfway through the shower. My personal hygiene suffered a bit that winter, then I moved out.

Last winter, half of Mr. Ladda's fur bathrob disappeared. Then Mr. Ladda's nose froze off... not to worry, he just hung it on the wall and marveled at HIS nostorious sculpture. LOL

Nope, the cold isn't for me. Although I have been to places where it is burr rabbit cold, like Aspen and Austria. I grew up in sunny So Cal and still live here. I need to save money too, so I try not to turn on the heat, but once it heads below 65 degrees, I gotta turn it on.... like now.

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